Skip to content
Nonprofiteer
← All organizations

BLACK LIVES MATTER FOUNDATION INC

EIN 82-4862489 OAKLAND, CA

Revenue 2023
$6,820,373
Expenses 2023
$9,115,702

Program services were 57.0% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
R20
Classification
1200
Street
248 3RD ST

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Other organizations at this address

4 other organizations in the IRS Business Master File list the same street address. matched by us

We match the street line and ZIP code as the IRS gives them, ignoring case and outer spaces and nothing else, so "AVE" and "AVENUE" count as different streets and this list can miss some. A shared address can mean related organizations or a shared office, but it can also be a registered agent, a mail drop or a service provider holding mail for unrelated clients. It is not, by itself, evidence that two organizations are connected.

Mission and programs · 2023

Mission

BLACK LIVES MATTER GLOBAL NETWORK FOUNDATION ("BLMGNF") IS WORKING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE SYSTEM TO HEAL THE PAST, RE-IMAGINE THE PRESENT, AND INVEST IN THE FUTURE OF BLACK LIVES THROUGH POLICY CHANGE, INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITIES, AND A COMMITMENT TO ARTS AND CULTURE.BLACK LIVES MATTER GLOBAL NETWORK FOUNDATION IMAGINES A WORLD WHERE BLACK PEOPLE ACROSS THE DIASPORA THRIVE, EXPERIENCE JOY, AND ARE NOT DEFINED BY THEIR STRUGGLES. BY ACHIEVING LIBERATION, WE ENVISION A FUTURE THAT IS FULLY DIVESTED FROM POLICE, PRISONS, AND ALL PUNISHMENT PARADIGMS TO BE REPLACED WITH INVESTMENT INTO JUSTICE, JOY, AND CULTURE.

Activities or mission (Part I)

HEAL THE PAST, RE-IMAGINE THE PRESENT, AND INVEST IN THE FUTURE OF BLACK LIVES

  • CULTURE - WE ARE UPLIFTING AND INVESTING IN BLACK CULTURE THAT PROPELS US TO DREAM BIG AND CREATE THE COMMUNITY WE WANT AND NEED TO FLOURISH, GROW, AND THRIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, "THE BLACK LIVES MATTER JOY EXPERIENCE" IS A CULTURAL INTERVENTION THAT FORCES PEOPLE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE POWER OF JOY. WITHOUT JOY, WE WON'T ACHIEVE LIBERATION. WITHOUT JOY, WE WON'T SURVIVE. WITHOUT JOY, WE WILL NEVER HEAL. AND WITHOUT JOY, WE CAN'T LOVE RADICALLY. BUT THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF BLACK JOY, WE WILL CONJURE UP DREAMS OF FREEDOM THAT OUR ANCESTORS WILL BE PROUD OF AND THAT PROPEL US CLOSER TO OUR DESIRED GLOBAL SOCIETY.

    Expenses $1,779,683 · Grants $1,000,000

  • ARTS PROGRAM - WE ARE CONCENTRATING ON THE NEXUS OF ART AND ACTIVISM IN PURSUIT OF BLACK LIBERATION AND THE PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION OF BLACK CREATIVITY. WE SUPPORT EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED INDIVIDUAL BLACK ARTISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE IN SOLIDARITY WITH MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. IN ADDITION TO UPLIFTING THE VOICES OF THE BLACK ARTS COMMUNITY, THIS PROGRAM SERVES AS A CONNECTION POINT TO PROVIDE ART EXPOSURE AND EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITIES THAT ARE OFTEN LEFT OUT, PARTICULARLY FOR YOUTH. THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, WE HAVE PURCHASED A PROPERTY THAT HAS A PRODUCTION STUDIO AND OFFICE/COMMUNAL SPACES THAT SERVES AS OUR ARTISTIC HEADQUARTERS AND ALLOWS US TO EFFECTIVELY MEET OUR PROGRAMMATIC OBJECTIVES, INCLUDING: CREATING CUTTING EDGE CONTENT ABOUT ABOLITION AND OUR WELL-BEING, CONVENE ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING LEADERS IN THE GLOBAL ARTS COMMUNITY; RUN ART ACTIVATIONS, CREATE AND CURATE ARTISTIC PERFORMANCES (FILM, TELEVISION, THEATER, ETC.); AND RUN AN AMBASSADOR AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM TO REACH NEW AUDIENCES.

    Expenses $1,122,679 · Grants $39,767

  • FRONTLINE ORGANIZING - WE ARE PARTNERING WITH ON-THE-GROUND LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL THAT CENTER ABOLITIONIST PRINCIPLES AND ARE BUILDING RADICAL BLACK ORGANIZING MODELS ROOTED IN BLACK POWER, SELF-DETERMINATION AND SUPPORT OF SYSTEM IMPACTED FAMILIES. WE ARE HELPING TO KEEP ABOLITIONIST FRONTLINE ORGANIZERS AND ACTIVISTS SAFE BY PROVIDING SECURITY SERVICES (BOTH DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL) FOR THEM. WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND ALIGNED ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENT A THREAT TO ORGANIZERS AND ACTIVISTS AND OUR MISSION WILL NOT BE ACCOMPLISHED IF THESE FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE NOT KEPT SAFE.

    Expenses $1,006,798 · Grants $760,000

  • HEALING JUSTICE - WE ARE BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF HEALING AND NURTURING ECOSYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT BLACK COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY OPPRESSIVE STRUCTURES AND INJUSTICE. TO THAT END, WE ARE CREATING GLOBAL INITIATIVES THAT BUILD COALITIONS AMONGST COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS, LEADERS, AND ORGANIZERS; AND SUPPORTING THE WORK OF ORGANIZATIONS AS THEY SUPPORT BLACK-LED AND INTERSECTIONAL MOVEMENT WORK LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, BY BUILDING CAPACITY, INFRASTRUCTURE, MEMBERSHIP, AND PRESENCE; PROVIDING SEED FUNDING; DEVELOPING PROGRAMMING; PROVIDING TRAININGS; AND PROVIDING PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND COMMUNICATIONS.

    Expenses $968,009 · Grants $762,500

  • RESEARCH & EDUCATION - WE ARE INVESTING IN MODERN-DAY RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOCUSING ON ABOLITIONIST FRAMEWORKS AND CURRICULUM AROUND BLACK HISTORY, IDENTITY, AND BLACK FUTURES. WE ARE LEADING PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS TO IMPROVE AND CHANGE THE MATERIAL CONDITIONS FOR BLACK PEOPLE (WHICH WILL UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE POSITIVE IMPACTS FOR ALL PEOPLE), THROUGH INVESTING IN OTHER PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS CONDUCTING RESEARCH, IN PERSON ACTIVATIONS, TRADITIONAL AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS, AND OTHER MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGNS FOCUSING ON RACIAL INJUSTICE, POLICE BRUTALITY, CRIMINAL LEGAL TRANSFORMATIONS, BLACK IMMIGRATION, ECONOMIC INJUSTICE, LGBTQIA+ AND HUMAN RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE, ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION, AND VOTING RIGHTS AND SUPPRESSION. THIS PROGRAM INCLUDES PARTNERING WITH BLACK STUDENTS AND THEIR CAMPUS COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

    Expenses $118,241 · Grants $2,695

  • POLICY - WE ARE INTERVENING ON EXISTING AND NEW POLICIES THAT REIMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT PUNITIVE MEASURES AND CREATE A WORLD WHERE BLACK PEOPLE HAVE ALL THAT WE NEED: FOOD, EDUCATION, HOUSING, HEALTH CARE, CLEAN WATER, BREATHABLE AIR, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS FOUNDATIONAL TO PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY SAFETY. THIS PROGRAM INCLUDES NON-PARTISAN VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS.

    Expenses $197,519

As filed on the 2023 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Officers and directors · 2023

As listed in Part VII of the 2023 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • Cicley Gay

    BOARD CHAIR & TREASURER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    15

  • Shalomyah Bowers

    BOARD SECRETARY

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    15

  • D'Zhane Parker

    BOARD MEMBER & SENIOR DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $108,175
    From this org
    $100,000
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $8,175
    Hours/week
    40

  • Paul Cullors

    HEAD OF SECURITY

    Total calculated
    $226,785
    From this org
    $200,000
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $26,785
    Hours/week
    50

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $200,000
    Bonus
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Deferred
    $12,000
    Nontaxable benefits
    $14,785
    Filer's total
    $226,785

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2023
    Revenue
    $6,820,373
    Expenses
    $9,115,702
    Contributions
    $3,336,252
    Grants paid
    $2,564,962
  • 2022
    Revenue
    $4,684,554
    Expenses
    $10,759,094
    Contributions
    $4,618,133
    Grants paid
    $642,992

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

  • 2021 · 990

    Revenue
    $8,489,062
    Expenses
    $17,048,810
    Assets (EOY)
    $33,290,886

  • 2020 · 990

    Revenue
    $79,644,823
    Expenses
    $37,710,135
    Assets (EOY)
    $43,689,904

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all.

Grants made

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Where these grants went next →

Grants received

Related organizations

From Schedule R Part II, where a filer lists the tax-exempt organizations it is related to by control. It does not record shared board members or money.

Declared on its 2023 return

  • BLACK LIVES MATTER POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE

    527 · SUPPORT PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY LEADERS, ACTIVISTS, & WORKING-CLASS CANDIDATES · DC · controlled entity

Taxable family

From Schedule R Parts I, III and IV: entities that legally are the filer, and taxable partnerships, corporations and trusts it is related to. These record ownership and control, not shared board members or money.

Disregarded entities on its 2023 return

  • DISREGARDED ENTITY

    HOLD REAL ESTATE · DE · assets $5,740,408

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 13 October 2026 and read 29 October 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2023, the newest we have parsed for this organization.